If you’re looking for a great way to squeeze in a quick and effective workout that will torch calories, HIIT is one of the best routes to go. High intensity interval training is one of the buzziest terms in the workout industry, and for good reason. Its highly customizable format makes HIIT an excellent option for when you don’t have much time to spare but want to make sure you’re completing an exercise that will elevate your heart rate and utilize said time wisely. There are a number of ways you can format your HIIT workouts to optimize calorie burn, but there’s one option that trainers love for switching things up and keeping your heart rate high: EMOM.
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EMOM (Every Minute On the Minute)
EMOM, or every minute on the minute, workouts are a variety of HIIT slightly different than simply exerting maximum effort within a dedicated work period. “Usually [EMOM] has around 1-4 exercises, and the challenge is to complete a predetermined amount of repetitions of the exercises within 60 seconds,” explains Bobbie Jo Davis, Trainer at Rumble Boxing in NYC. “After you finish, you use the remaining time of that minute for rest, then everything starts over when the next minute begins.”
This form of HIIT amps up your workout by giving you reps and sets to complete, with the speed of which you finish your reps determining how much rest you actually get. “Using EMOM as a form of high intensity training can be an effective way to elevate your heart rate, getting you closer to your VO2 max (max oxygen consumption if we wanna get technical),” says Davis. “Typically, the higher the heart rate, the more calories burned.” However, as with all workouts, the amount of calories burned is all dependent on the intensity of your exercise and how much you choose to push your body.
Davis also notes that the term fat burning should be clarified more precisely as the calorie output from your exercise session, not to be taken literally as burning the fat straight from your body. “Fat is a fuel source, and “fat burning” is a phrase widely thrown around when we're not actually “burning” the fat sitting underneath our skin, we are just using more calories as we hit higher intensity,” she explains. That said, EMOM can provide a number of benefits to the body as you work to lose weight, increasing calorie burn while optimizing the time you have to create the most effective workout possible.
EMOM is ultimately one of the best exercises because it’s highly customizable and therefore will be more enjoyable to complete if you’re doing a workout you like. The key to finding success within your workout routine is by doing exercises that feel good, and while working every minute on the minute will challenge your cardiovascular strength and work your muscles, that time can also be packed with moves you feel good doing so you can stick to your routine. Incorporating exercise into your daily habits is one of the easiest ways to increase calorie burn and create a healthy deficit for weight loss, and EMOM may be just the workout to get you there.
